Tag: wellbeing

My KETO DIET–Biggest Change–Quick Thoughts!

The biggest change that I noticed starting a strict Keto diet 7 weeks ago is the abeyance of anxiety. I staunchly avoided desserts, all sugars and carbs from even vegetables with the exception of kale, onions, bell peppers, Swiss Chard and avocados. I will blog more about my Keto diet in the future but for now, I want to discuss my mental state.

The superpower that I’ve noticed is the equanimity of mind. I have more stability in my emotional state. I have much less worry about how people perceive me or how they may dislike me. I have this overriding sense of balance for myself and when my ego sees me fail, it does not allow for excessive rumination or time spent on worry. I worry a bit but then I can quickly move on.

Even being just slightly less concerned about how other people are perceiving me has been a golden opportunity. I can risk trying new things.

We are warned so much throughout our lives about “Taking risks” and “being careful”. But what about the risk of not taking risks?

The old bumper sticker “But did you die?” comes to mind. We forget how short our lives are so we spend less time self actualizing and more time self manicuring--more time framing ourselves as “cool”, “low key” and “let me keep myself quiet behind the scenes so as not to bother or annoy anyone.”. Instead of make a text post with our original take on a situation, we reshare someone else’s funny meme.

We ultimately try to make it so our ego doesn’t have to face the perils of other people and their judgment and critiques of us. Because…if we begin to come out and be original and just be our full selves, we know they could disapprove of our inner core, our true unvarnished identity–if that is such a thing.

Now, if being on a ketogenic diet helps my mind and wellbeing to such an extent that I will have tried and completed more things over the course of a year, then I can honestly say it’s a huge benefit. All of these incremental steps and pursuits add up.

With a better mental framework–thanks to Keto–I am gaining more “tries” in the game of life and with each move comes more opportunity for how the system of life works and how success is achieved.

“Good Little Decision” Journaling

“Good Little Decision” Journaling

Every act of self-discipline puts you on a journey to success and mental balance. I truly believe that just GRABBING my moments and making even just a few, very decisive moves will catapult me into a truly new dimension–a new reality of health and wellness.

Here is a recent example: Last night I decided not to eat a bowl of ice cream that I had planned to eat. I made my son a bowl of ice cream and was almost ready to make one for myself. At that CRITICAL MOMENT, I had a thought, a reflection, a flash of mindfulness. I thought, “You know, I’m only going to eat this bowl of ice cream for the taste–not because I’m famished, not because I’m even bored, not because it has some health denseness to it…but solely because I want a jolt of dopamine.

I’m not quite sure how I got through that impulse and made it to the other side. Truly, it was one of the few I’ve made. I lead a moderately healthy lifestyle but always give in for the “taste”. This time I made a choice–a deferral of gratification. I realize I need to make more of these little decisions on a moment-to-moment basis. Even here, I stopped for a few minutes to write and journal. It’s injecting the good decisions in your day–throughout your day–that really does the trick.

I think I’m going to make myself a journal where I start to write down good little decisions I make on a daily basis. Any act that fortifies my brain or my overall health should be written down and remembered. I need to write these moments down! As I develop my track record for good decisions, I will increase the level of confidence and positivity I have for myself. This will keep the momentum going for the times that I do break down and make awful health decisions. I have to start seeing myself as someone who can make better decisions. Afterall, I have done a few so I can do more, right? That’s the state of mind that you need to be in.

Sure, I may have had cookies for breakfast but how about exercising now, VIGOROUSLY? How about not checking my phone? How about writing a blog post? How about trying to force myself to stay positive for just a little while longer? How about channeling creativity instead of scrolling?

All of these little decisions add up!

PICKING YOURSELF OUT OF THE DUMPSTER

I’ve concluded that a 20 minute cardio exercise session followed by stretches is perhaps the best strategy for picking myself up from the dumps.

After 20 minutes of fairly intense cardio you start to feel a soothing, warm calmness descend upon you. Exercising regularly like this will assist in achieving a variety of goals all at the same time!

While exercise isn’t a 100% guarantee, it will INCREASE YOUR CHANCES of being more creative, less moody. It will INCREASE YOUR CHANCES of sleeping better. It will pivot your mind away from negative thinking (at least temporarily). It will INCREASE YOUR CHANCES of having a better memory that day because of the increased blood flow to your brain.

Because exercising regularly INCREASES the likelihood of so many positive life experiences and emotions, it ends up diminishing the time…those moments you’re spending in unpleasant states of what I call “mental dreariness”. Exercising gives you a MUCH NEEDED BREAK from anxiety or dwelling on (seemingly) failed experiences or failed personal interactions.

Over the weeks, LESS TIME SPENT IN MENTAL DREARINESS OR DEPRESSION starts to ADD UP! You’re reworking your entire conscious configuration. Think about all the new inputs you’ll receive from more time spent in flow states and less time allowing your brain to wander into jealousy or resentment or comparison to others. It’s like compound interest for your brain. Over time, you’re changing into an improved person, both mentally and physically.

The problem with exercise is that it is often uncomfortable, monotonous and boring. But other than that, it’s a huge investment to your life and wellbeing. Start out for 5 minutes of intense cardio a day and start to add a minute or two. I started around 8 minutes per day and FINALLY got up to 15 (yes, after 2 years). Now I’m easily committed to 20 minutes a day of intense exercise.

Once you start seeing the incremental improvements, you’re hooked. You’ll even miss it on those sick days!